Seroprevalence of Rotavirus infection in pig population of Arunachal Pradesh

AIM

This study was conducted to find out the seroprevalence of Rotavirus(RV) infection among the pig population of Arunachal Pradesh.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Serums samples were collected from piglets of age ranging from 1 week to 6 months and the sows associated with the piglets that were reared under organized and unorganized system of management in six different districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The prevalence of RV specific antibodies was detected using a polyclonal antibody-based indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i-ELISA).

RESULTS

The study revealed that out of 394 serum samples, 255 (64.72%) samples were found to be positive for RV-specific antibody in i-ELISA. Considering the samples from different districts, Papumpare district of Arunachal Pradesh showed highest numbers of seropositive animals (68.75%) followed by upper Subansiri (64.91%) while West Siang district showed lowest positivity rate (61.22%).

CONCLUSION

As considerable seropositivity was recorded among pig population of Arunachal Pradesh in this study, there is urgent need to establish high-impact and cost-effective public health intervention tools, key among them being the introduction of strict hygiene practice and RV vaccination program, to greatly reduce the number of deaths due to diarrheal diseases. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on the prevalence of RV infection from pigs of Arunachal Pradesh.

Efficient coupling of acoustic modes in microfluidic channel devices

This work introduces a new numerical simulation approach to acoustic microfluidic chip design based on coupled-resonator theory. A simplified acoustofluidic device operating in the transverse elastic mode is investigated and optimized for maximal pressure standing wave amplitude. This design approach provides insights into the symmetry and frequency characteristics of acoustic chip resonances that cannot be obtained from analysis based on wave propagation arguments. The new approach reveals that optimal performance requires spatial symmetry-matching and frequency-matching of the full device's elastic resonance to the channel's acoustic resonance. Symmetry selection is demonstrated for a three terminal piezoelectric transducer actuation scheme showing suppression of opposite-symmetry and enhancement of same-symmetry acoustic modes. Excitation of ultrasonic waves exhibits the anti-crossing behaviour predicted by coupled mode theory with the acoustic mode splitting into two distinct branches. Increased efficiency of energy transfer from the transducer into the fluid, with its corresponding increase in pressure amplitude, suggests a potential path toward significant increases in acoustic separator performance.

Oxidative stress, endothelial function, carotid artery intimal thickness and their correlates among chronic peritoneal dialysis patients

We evaluated important nontraditional cardiovascular risk factors, endothelial function and oxidative stress (OS) among stable peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Their association with carotid intimal medial thickness (CIMT) was also assessed. Thirty-eight adult patients (13 diabetics, 20 males) on PD for >6 months and 15 age and sex-matched controls were studied. Duration of dialysis (DOD), residual urine output (UO), weekly Kt/V urea, detailed biochemical and lipid profile were noted. OS was measured by serum concentration of antioxidants; vitamin C and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and pro-oxidant; thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). High-resolution ultrasonography was used to determine CIMT and flow-mediated dilatation of brachial artery [endothelium-dependent dilatation (EDD)] and dilatation subsequent to nitrate spray [endothelium-independent dilatation (EID)]. Mean age, DOD, UO and Kt/V of study population were 49.3 ± 11.6 years, 19.4 ± 11.8 months, 508.2 ± 422.9 ml/day and 1.73 ± 0.24, respectively. As compared to controls PD patients had higher CIMT (0.46 ± 0.05 vs 0.50 ± 0.07 mm, P = 0.003) and TBARS (1.5 ± 0.4 vs 5.1 ± 2.3 nM/ml, P < 0.001) but lower Vitamin C (1.7 ± 0.3 vs 0.6 ± 0.2 mg%, P < 0.001), FRAP (990.8 ± 78.1 vs 328.7 ± 183.5 μM/L, P < 0.001) and EDD (26.2 ± 5.4 vs 9.8 ± 4.6 %, P < 0.001). TBARS correlated positively with DOD and negatively with hemoglobin. Vitamin C and FRAP correlated positively with serum albumin. EDD correlated positively with UO, Kt/V and hemoglobin. CIMT correlated negatively with Kt/V and hemoglobin. Among themselves CIMT correlated negatively with EDD and vitamin C. EDD correlated positively with vitamin C, while FRAP correlated positively with vitamin C and negatively with TBARS. PD patients have higher OS, poorer endothelial function and higher structural atherosclerosis. These parameters are closely linked to each other, hemoglobin, DOD, residual UO, serum albumin and small solute clearances.

Combinatorial Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds Using Metal−Phthalocyanine Field Effect Transistors

We apply percolation theory to explain the operation of multiple-use gas sensors based on organic field effect transistors (OFETs). For reversible operation, we predict that energetic disorder in the channel can obscure interactions with the analyte, because chemically induced traps are overwhelmed by the natural disorder. Consequently, the sensitivity of an energetically disordered OFET-based chemical sensor is significantly inferior to the ideal disorder-free case. Current modulation in disordered OFETs is predicted to rely on morphological alteration of percolation paths. The theory is compared to results from an array of metal phthalocyanine (MPC) transistors exposed to low concentrations of solvents. Despite the presence of very large adsorption fractions of solvent on the channel, the current modulation is small, consistent with theory. Chemical selectivity is possible, however, because the central metal atom of the MPC determines the strength of the solvent-MPC interaction, which in turn determines the amount of solvent adsorbed on the OFET channel. This work suggests that OFET-based sensors may be better suited to applications where the analyte binding energy exceeds the intrinsic energetic disorder of the organic semiconductor.